UFC 134's Yushin Okami: After Saturday night, I will be the best Japanese fighter

RIO DE JANEIRO – He’s been called the best fighter to ever come out of Japan, but he doesn’t feel that way. Not yet.

Right now, Yushin Okami (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC) is a UFC middleweight challenger in a city that’s patiently tolerating his presence as part of a hero’s hometown welcome.

But in a fight he considers “destiny,” Okami said his role will change when he beats champ Anderson Silva (30-4 MMA, 13-0 UFC) at UFC 134. Then, he’ll not only be a champion, but he will live up to his billing.

UFC president Dana White earlier made headlines with the bold claim that Okami’s career trumped the handful of Japanese icons that came before him, though it could be written off as a promoter doing his job as much as stating an opinion.

For the throngs of fans that packed the city’s Copacabana beach, though, it wouldn’t be considered an opinion that Silva is the best in the world, but a fact. Michael Jordan scarcely could have brought a bigger reception.

So a lot of the questions from the Brazilian media circulated around just how Okami planned to beat the seemingly unbeatable Silva, who makes his ninth title defense. He handled them with the stoic calm that he does with just about every interview.

“I understand many people are saying Anderson is the pound-for-pound (best) fighter,” he said through an interpreter. “But it really doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to beat him, and I’m going to be the middleweight champion.”

It’s taken Okami a while to get to this point. Long considered one of the toughest fighters in the 185-pound division, he fought 12 times in the UFC and lost just twice – to a former champion and contender – before he was given the opportunity to fight for a title.

But the extended wait didn’t even register to the Japanese fighter, as if his road wasn’t any longer than any other middleweight who climbed the ladder.

“I’m the kind of person who never thinks too much (about those things), so I didn’t think about it in that way,” Okami told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “But there is one thing I can say: Right now, I’m in the best shape, so this is the best time to fight Anderson Silva.”

Okami admitted that there were lessons learned in the first fight, which took place four years ago in Hawaii and ended when Silva was disqualified by an illegal upkick, and made it clear again that just because he trains with Chael Sonnen doesn’t mean that he’s going to replicate Sonnen’s almost-successful fight with Silva at UFC 117.

Just what he’s planning to do is, of course, a surprise that the world will see on Saturday. But Okami believes there will be no doubt about where he stands in the sport when the fight is over.

“I’m very glad to hear that comment from Mr. Dana, but I’m doing this to be the best in the world, so I’m going to prove it in the next fight,” he said.

For the latest on the UFC 134 card, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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